2/8 Razors

How common are these?

I came across one in a shop today, but resisted buying it due to not knowing anything at all about what to look for in such a small blade!

It also had an unusual place of manufacture, Sittingbourne. That's smallish town in rural Kent, England, although it has been fairly industrial due to shipping etc in the past. I just happen to work there now, which is why it caught my interest - wish I'd written down the trade name now, but too late now

Thanks in advance for any info

Cheers
P

I've got one. I have not seen many. I don't know why anyone would bother with something so delicate. Good luck to anyone honing or stropping something that narrow!

Like a host of other things, the dealer in Sittingbourne was probably just the retailer, and the cutlers would affix anybody's name on demand.

Was there anything that might indicate the age of the razor? If it looked consistent with being post-First World War, I would guess it to be for trimming above the thin, Ronald Coleman or Errol Flynn moustache.

... or that 'chin ditch' cleaved out of those massive 'sideburns' that used to drive the ladies wild...

:)

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Originally Posted by Caledonian

Like a host of other things, the dealer in Sittingbourne was probably just the retailer, and the cutlers would affix anybody's name on demand.

Was there anything that might indicate the age of the razor? If it looked consistent with being post-First World War, I would guess it to be for trimming above the thin, Ronald Coleman or Errol Flynn moustache.

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No real clue to age I'm afraid, but it was in good condition apart from medium/heavy hone wear on the spine, probably due to difficulty honing such a narrow blade. Or poor quality steel not holding an edge needing constant re-honing? Your guess as good as mine!

I have a feeling I read about narrow razors being from the period you suggest somewhere else recently, but the specifics escape me

I have one in NOS by J.Voos, Solingen. Other than that they are as rare as hen's teeth, but lately a few have been made available http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/page47.html

Beware though - not all 2/8s that you see will have been made this way, for I have seen a few, what were presumably 9/16s or even 3/8s, worn down or reground.

I'm not to fond of them. For me the novelty of shaving with something a third the width of most of my other razors quickly wore off, and they are much harder to strop. They are also a stiffer grind and I favour hollows. Superb for detail work, which is what I assume they were intended for primarily.

I've never seen one. I wonder if they weren't made, as Caledonian mentioned, for trimming a mustache ? I had a mustache for many years and used to use a 4/8 for trimming it. I shaved it off when it turned white. I wouldn't want anyone thinking I'm old. :w

I have a NOS Mercur 2/8s. It's not designed for actual shaving. It's made for trim work only as they all are. I never use it because I simply can't hold on to the thing while stropping and even in shaving it can get away from you.

One way you might be able to tell if it was a true 2/8 is the spine. It should probably be very thin, but not extremely flat on the sides of the spine. I have a 3/8 J. A. Henckels #103 that has a very small thickness at the back, or spine, and doesn't show a lot of hone wear.
http://vernsdidj.com/pictures/misc/r...A-Henckels.jpg

So a 2/8 would look similar to that with little hone wear on the spine, but a shorter overall blade length. I have shaved around my upper lip with this one, but it usually sits in the drawer, not used, and I should put it in the classified sometime for someone use to trim with.

By my mind, a 2/8 is very useful to clean your ears

I have a really small boker warrior. It may be 2/8 (3/8 at most). I use it to touch up in case I don't thoroughly get a spot.

I believe that razors of the size of 2/8 3/8 had special functions. They were tools of the barbers. Just as mechanics needed tools to perform their work, since an adjustable "Crescent" wrench and a pair of pliers just won't do, so did the barbers need special tools, and of these, razors of various sizes and shapes were needed. It's one thing to have a mustache that is simply uncut whiskers, trimmed somewhere down around the corners of the mouth, but when someone would come into the barber shop and want to have their beard trimmed in a certain fashion, even have a mustache trimmed just so-so, like the late W. Clement Stone of Chicago, these small razors were the right choice for the tool of the job at hand.
http://www.all-famous-quotes.com/ima...thor_stone.jpg
W. Clement Stone and his distinguishing shaped mustache.

You say that Gibbs, but there is nothing I can not do with an 8/8 that I can achieve only with a smaller razor, so there is no symmetry in the functions of the smaller tools to which you refer to, highlighted that being professionals barbers would likely have been just as proficient if not more so than SR users. Certainly they may have made it easier, but 'hard to reach areas' are not precluded without utility of smaller tools.

These small razors were especially prized for cleaning up the last bits of a haircut. In particular, getting the last bits of hair above and behind the ears (as well as at the nape of the neck) is where this smaller size of razor really shines.

My local barber still uses straight razors for exactly that cleanup work and he won't touch a razor wider than a 4/8... and even then he finds it a bit too wide.

They may be useful for cleaning up a haircut where a larger razor could be dangerous, but that is not shaving of facial hair as has been suggested.

I don't think many barbers used these small razors (meaning 2/8s) and most I've seen seem to be from the 1950s or later. I don't know if they were made for the general population or some other specialized audience. In the 1950s and 60s razor haircuts cuts were popular but they used electric razors for those. They are rare so my guess is they were just a tonsorial oddity. Maybe a razor without a real purpose and now we're trying to second guess them.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Maybe a razor without a real purpose and now we're trying to second guess them.

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Which is why so few exist.

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Originally Posted by Scipio

Which is why so few exist.

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...hmmmm That makes my Henckels 3/8 a little more valuable that what I thought it was. I just figured it was a great lip and chin shaver.

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Originally Posted by Gibbs

...hmmmm That makes my Henckels 3/8 a little more valuable that what I thought it was. I just figured it was a great lip and chin shaver.

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I think I might be going back to the shop to see if they still have the razor that started this discussion now!

Well, keep in mind tha a razor "made" to be 2/8 or 3/8 is altogether different than one that started out, say 5/8, and was ground down over the years to near nothing. There are plenty of those on eBay I have seen. Newer 2/8 or 3/8 might be something to look at, but a worn out 5/8 or 6/8 razor that has been really honed to death probably won't be worth much.

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Originally Posted by Gibbs

Well, keep in mind tha a razor "made" to be 2/8 or 3/8 is altogether different than one that started out, say 5/8, and was ground down over the years to near nothing. There are plenty of those on eBay I have seen. Newer 2/8 or 3/8 might be something to look at, but a worn out 5/8 or 6/8 razor that has been really honed to death probably won't be worth much.

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Granted - will use some judgement rather than impulse purchase, well I'll try anyway ;)

I have a 2/8 made in Solingen, which prompted me to stock the TI 3/8 & 2/8 'Super Gnome' razors. They are a bit wide for the stated depth but TI do tend to measure blade width from below the spine hone line! They are pretty narrow, though. My own is a full wedge and murderously sharp, you really do have to be careful with it - a bit awkward to strop as it is just like a steel straw but for beard shaping it is the absolute M-B.

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Originally Posted by ignatz

These small razors were especially prized for cleaning up the last bits of a haircut. In particular, getting the last bits of hair above and behind the ears (as well as at the nape of the neck) is where this smaller size of razor really shines.

My local barber still uses straight razors for exactly that cleanup work and he won't touch a razor wider than a 4/8... and even then he finds it a bit too wide.

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+1 Wish I could find some of them today. Perfect for the neck!!:dropjaw: